The roll-call of tax payment and tax deadline extensions continues to grow in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, both here in Chicagoland and across the nation.
The IRS has expanded the list of tax deadline extensions for federal taxes and tax returns to include gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax returns. An earlier notice had applied only to federal income tax returns and payments (including self-employment tax payments) due April 15, 2020, for 2019 tax years, and to estimated income tax payments due April 15, 2020, for 2020 tax years.
Notice 2020-20 updates earlier guidance to include the gift and GST deadline extensions.
What Are Gift and GST Taxes?
Gift Taxes. The Internal Revenue Code imposes a gift tax on property or cash you give to any one person, but only if the value of the gift exceeds a certain threshold called the annual gift tax exclusion, currently $15,000 per person. You can give away the amount of the exclusion each year without incurring a tax. The giver is responsible for paying this tax, not the recipient.
GST Taxes. The generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax can be incurred when grandparents directly transfer money or property to their grandchildren without first leaving it to their parents. These types of transfers share the same lifetime exemption as the federal estate and gift taxes, and are also subject to an annual exclusion limit of $15,000 per person.
Check with your local estate planning attorney and tax accountant for updates to any changes with the federal estate tax or the Illinois estate tax. And stay tuned for more federal and state tax deadline extensions.
Resource: Financial Planning, IRS postpones deadline for gift and GST taxes due to coronavirus, https://www.financial-planning.com/news/irs-offers-relief-on-gift-and-generation-skipping-transfer-taxes-due-to-coronavirus
